Voice of the people (letter).

Good Guns

October 16, 1999|By Joel Stucki.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS — I am writing in regard to "Firing line, Shooting death of teen reflects the real face of our gun crisis " by Leonard Pitts Jr. (Commentary, Oct. 12). I commend him for attempting to look at both sides of the gun-control issue despite his own obvious anti-gun sentiment.

Pitts' failing is that he did not research information from both sides to arrive at his conclusions.

Before I go any further, allow me to stress that I am not a gun owner nor a member of the National Rifle Association.

It is true that 10,369 people were murdered with firearms in 1997, compared to 190 cases of justifiable homicide by private gun owners. The information lacking here is that each year, nearly 2.5 million crimes are prevented by gun owners, most of the time without a shot being fired.

The reason is quite simple: The mere sight of a gun in the hands of an intended victim is enough to send most criminals running.

Many people attempt to read the minds of the authors of the 2nd Amendment to justify their own agenda.

Let's set the record straight:

- First, the professional soldiers of the Revolution were in the Continental Army. The militias were made up of private armed citizens. George Mason, co-author of the 2nd Amendment, wrote in his militia plan: ". . .A well-regulated militia, composed of the gentlemen, freeholders and other freemen, was necessary to protect our ancient laws and liberty from the standing army. . ."

To eliminate any further doubt, Mason argued in the ratification debate, "I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials."

- Second, the self-defense issue is laid to rest by Thomas Jefferson: "The laws that forbid the carrying of arms. . .disarm those only who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. . .Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides. . ."

This can be seen in the fact that all 31 states allowing concealed carry have seen a dramatic decline in their respective crime rates.

- Third, the phrase "the right of the people" means just what it says. The 4th, 9th and 10th Amendments contain the same phrase, and the courts have ruled on numerous occasions that these rights belong to individuals.

The 2nd Amendment is very clear in its meaning, but one must understand the choice of words to properly interpret it.

The story of Richard Peek Jr. is tragic, as well as all other instances of gun violence and any other kind of violence. The far-too-frequent story of a small child accidentally shooting himself or a loved one could and should be prevented by locking up our guns, at least with children in the house. I'm sure even Charlton Heston would agree with that.

As far as testing and education, I know that the NRA has had educational programs in place for years, applying to all types of firearms and discouraging children who would play with them as toys. They know that few things are more dangerous than a gun owner who has no idea what he is doing. Such people are more likely to hurt themselves than a potential assailant.

Be that as it may, the vast majority of the 70 million legal gun owners in America know how to use them safely, and so, despite the numerous incidents, guns still do more good than harm.